


Lost Time

by radiantdean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 10:56:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4703486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantdean/pseuds/radiantdean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fulfilled tumblr prompts</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost Time

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you're interested, my tumblr is radiantdean (:

Castiel didn’t understand high school.

It was confusing to him why he’d been kicked out of history class for “talking back” to his teacher. He was just trying to explain what had actually happened at the battle of Bunker Hill. He had been there for part of it, after all.

He couldn’t grasp why his English teacher had scolded him for “overanalyzing” when he’d just been reciting words that he’d heard from Dickens himself. 

But most of all he didn’t get why he had to go to high school at all. He was an immortal, millennia-old, angel of the lord, and his vessel was a hormonal, seventeen-year-old boy who went to high school.

“It’ll help us blend in,” Michael had said. “While we’re in town on business. What would people think if a boy of your age wasn’t going to school?”

Cas really didn’t understand the point of high school. Until he met Dean.  
“Hey, I’m sorry,” Cas said one morning after slamming shoulders with another student in passing. His voice trailed off as his eyes met those of the boy he’d bumped into. They were bright green and mischievous, happy and alive.

“Don’t worry about it,” the boy said, offering a lopsided grin. He furrowed his brow slightly, though, after a couple of seconds. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before,” he said. “I’m Dean.”

“Castiel,” Cas managed to say. “I’m Castiel.”

“Huh,” Dean said, already starting to walk backwards and away from Cas. “Interesting name. Well, it was nice to meet you!”

“You, too,” Cas murmured under his breath as he watched Dean’s back moving farther and farther away from him in the crowd.

He began to look for Dean everywhere, in his classes, the hallways, the cafeteria, the parking lot. He’d usually catch a glimpse of him, and every once in awhile, their eyes would meet, just for a moment. To Cas’s surprise, instead of quickly turning away, Dean would even send a small smile his way before breaking eye contact.

One day, he sat beside Cas in Chemistry, even though the majority of his friends sat on the other side of the room.

The next day, Dean spoke.

“Hey,” he said quietly, causing Cas to jump. He had absentmindedly been doodling on the cover of his notebook, but Dean’s voice pulled him from his reverie.

He glanced up, and once again his breath was practically knocked out of him by those green eyes.

“Hey,” he replied, somewhat hesitantly. Not many people talked to him. What with his name and the way he kept to himself, most tended to avoid him a bit.

“So, where do you get a name like ‘Castiel?’” Dean asked, speaking just loud enough for Cas to hear, but too low to be overheard by anyone else.

“My parents, I guess,” Cas said, returning his attention to the front of the room, though it took almost everything in him to tear his eyes from Dean’s face.

Dean laughed quietly. “Right. Well, I’d love to hear more about it sometime,” he said, opening up his notebook as if he was actually taking notes.

“What?” Cas said, honestly a bit startled.

“Why don’t you grab a coffee with me after school?” Dean said, obviously unperturbed by Cas’s shock.

“I… Yeah, sure,” Cas said.

“Great,” Dean said, smiling wide. “I’ll meet you in the parking lot after last period.”

It only took a couple of minutes for Cas to mentally ask himself what the hell he’d just gotten himself into. It only got worse as the day went on, his stomach twisting into knots with each passing period, his hands growing sweaty as the clock ticked closer and closer to the end of the school day.

But no matter how nervous Cas got, the thought to bail on these plans never crossed his mind. Some part of him, a part he honestly couldn’t ignore, wanted nothing more than to spend more time with Dean.

By the time the bell rang that signaled the end of the school day, Cas was sure his legs would give out beneath him. He still somehow managed to make his way to the parking lot where Dean was, leaning against his car.

“Hey, you made it,” he said, smiling at Cas as he pushed off the driver’s side door.

“I did,” Cas said, for lack of anything better to say. Dean continued to smile as he opened the door.

“Ready to go?” he asked, one foot already inside of the car. Cas nodded and made his way around to the passenger side, slipping into the car and closing the door behind him.

Dean drove faster than most people Cas knew. He obviously enjoyed it, with his left arm hanging out the window and his fingers tapping on the steering wheel to whatever song was blasting through the speakers. And Cas couldn’t tear his eyes from the easy smile on Dean’s face, or the way he had to squint his eyes just slightly against the wind blowing through the window.

When they reached Dean’s coffeehouse of choice, they picked a small table in the back corner of the cafe where they could, Cas noticed, observe almost everybody else in the establishment. 

“So,” Dean said, once they were both seated with their drinks. “Your name.”

“You actually brought me here to talk about my name?” Cas blurted.

“No, not exactly,” Dean said, smiling a bit sheepishly. “But I thought I’d start with it.”

“It’s biblical,” Cas said, tilting his head slightly to the side. “So is my brother’s. Michael.”

Dean nodded. “I see. Your parents religious freaks or something?” he asked, seemingly okay with the possibility that he might have just offended Cas.

But Cas merely smiled slightly, amused by the complete irony of the situation. “Yeah, something like that.”

They continued to talk for what felt like hours, about school mostly. Cas listened intently as Dean babbled about things he’d never heard of, sports teams and things of the like. Dean told the angel about his younger brother Sam, and how little his father was actually around to take care of them.

And as Dean continued to speak, the pieces started to fall into place in Cas’s mind. His eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open slightly. Dean faltered in the middle of his sentence.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?” he asked, studying Cas’s face. The angel cleared his throat and blinked a couple of times.

“What did you say your last name was?” he asked, surprised by how casual his voice sounded, when really his heart was beating a thousand beats per minute.

“I didn’t,” Dean said, still looking at Cas with concern. “But it’s Winchester.”

“Winchester,” Cas repeated. “You’re Dean Winchester?”

“Uh, yes, I am,” Dean said slowly. “I thought that’s what we’d just covered.”

Cas didn’t know what to say. Not only was he sitting in a coffee shop sitting across from an attractive guy, but he was sharing the afternoon with Michael’s Sword. The Righteous Man. Dean Winchester had been the talk of Heaven for centuries, he would know the name anywhere. And now he had actually met the man of the hour, so to speak. He’d met him and was undoubtedly attracted to him.

“Cas, seriously,” Dean said softly. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Cas said after another few moments of stunned silence. “Just, uh, lost in thought, I apologize.”

Dean smiled then, tilting his head slightly. “Why do you talk like that?”

“Talk like what?” Cas asked, squinting his eyes slightly in confusion.

“So formally like that.”

Cas shrugged. “It’s just how I grew up,” he said.

“I’ve got to meet this family of yours,” Dean said with a small laugh.

They finally left the coffee house when the bright afternoon sun began to fade to dusk. They walked back to the car together, so close that their arms often bumped into each other as they walked. When they reached the car, Cas stopped.

“I think I’ll walk home,” he said, tightly clutching the strap of his book bag.

“What?” Dean said. “It’s no problem to drive you.” But Cas just shook his head, remaining where he stood on the sidewalk.

“Thank you, but it’s really not far,” he said. “I had a great time this afternoon, though.”

Dean smiled and stepped closer to Cas. “Yeah, I did, too,” he said. He took another step in Cas’s direction and leaned forward, closing the rest of the distance between them. He slowly, carefully, lightly, pressed his lips to Cas’s cheek. “We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

Cas swallowed hard. “Yes, we will. Goodnight, Dean,” he said, grateful that the falling darkness obscured the blush rising to his cheeks.

As the weeks wore on, Dean and Cas found themselves spending more and more time together. The sought each other out in the cafeteria, always kept an eye out in the hallways, and were inseparable in the classes that they shared. They hung out almost every afternoon after school, and one night after they’d gone to see a movie, they actually kissed. It was unlike anything Cas had ever experienced, and from that point on they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

All free periods were spent in secluded corners of the library, supply closets, or even outside if it wasn’t too cold, their lips locked together, hands on every part of each other’s bodies they could touch.

And Cas couldn’t remember a time that he had ever been happier.

He liked to tune out the incessant chatter of his brothers and sisters on angel radio when he was at school, and especially when he was with Dean. If he didn’t, though, he might’ve known what was waiting for him when he got home from school on Friday afternoon.

“Castiel?” Michael called from the kitchen, immediately after Cas had closed the door behind him. Just by the tone of his voice, he knew that his brother was absolutely livid. Instead of answering right away, he made his way into the kitchen, where Michael was standing by the sink.

“Tell me what I’m hearing is not the truth,” he said.

“Well, that depends,” Cas said. “What is it you’re hearing?”

“That you are involved with Dean Winchester. As in the Dean Winchester who is my true vessel.”

A deep cold began to seep through Cas’s chest as he met his brother’s eyes. There was a cool fury in them, something that, while he didn’t like to admit it, actually scared Cas.

“I cannot lie to you, brother,” Cas said after a few seconds of silence. Michael took a deep breath, as if gearing up for a long evening.

“Must I remind you,” he began, his voice low and menacing. “That it is forbidden to be involved with any human, let alone one who is so important in the future of this world and of Heaven?”

“I am aware of our laws,” Cas said. “But he makes me happy.”

“Makes you happy? Castiel, I do not think you understand the possible consequences of your actions. This will ruin you. Ruin us. You must end this foolishness immediately.”

“I understand completely what could happen to me,” Cas said. “And I’m willing to shoulder the burden.”

“You will be shunned, Castiel,” Michael practically growled. “You will fall. You will never again be able to serve Heaven. Is that really what you want? All for one man, who will someday die?”

Cas’s breath hitched, and his chest constricted, as if his brother’s words had physically knocked the breath from his lungs. He couldn’t lose his family, his place in Heaven. What he felt with Dean was better than anything he’d felt in his existence, but Heaven is what he knew. Heaven was his home.

“You are right, brother,” Cas said. “This is not right. I will… I will end things, Michael. Not to worry.”

“Good,” Michael said, crossing the kitchen to the doorway. “You are doing the right thing, Castiel.” And with that, he disappeared from the room, leaving Cas alone.

The task that Cas had ahead of him ate at him for days, until finally he just couldn’t take it anymore. He had to get it over with.

“Dean,” he blurted out one evening as they were sitting in silence on the hood of Dean’s car, side by side. “We need to talk.”

“Sure, about what?” Dean said, obviously not sensing Cas’s mood.

Cas took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly before opening them again, looking directly at Dean’s face.

“I’m leaving town,” he said, knowing that if he didn’t say it now, he never would.

“You’re… what?” Dean said, eyes wide with shock. “No, no, Cas, you can’t. You can’t leave now. This… What we have… God, Cas, I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m so sorry, Dean,” Cas said, his voice quavering slightly. “I wanted to stay here, with you, but… it’s just not possible right now. But I’ll make sure you don’t feel this. You won’t feel this pain.

"What?” Dean asked, his shock transforming into confusion. “How could you possibly make sure of that?”

“Because,” Cas said, brushing his fingers through the bit of Dean’s hair that fell over onto his forehead. “You won’t remember any of it.” With that, he slowly pressed his fingers to Dean’s forehead, flipping through the memories in his mind. He carefully extracted himself from Dean’s brain, erasing any trace that he had ever been there, and was gone before the young hunter had even opened his eyes.

While Cas stayed far away from Dean over the passing years, he kept a close eye on the hunter. He watched as Dean and his younger brother hit the road after Jess’s death. He witnessed Sam’s death, and it took everything in him not to intervene when Dean sold his soul. And when the hellhounds came for his hunter, Castiel didn’t think he’d ever felt anything more painful.

So, when it was needed, Cas was the first to volunteer to bring Dean back.

Their first meeting, as it was from Dean’s perspective, was more violent than Cas had anticipated. He clearly explained that he had been the one to grip Dean tight and raise him from perdition, and yet he had still received a knife to the chest.

But Cas could see, just from those green eyes, that the Dean he had known all those years ago was gone. He had been beaten down and battered so many times that he had simply hardened, and Cas wished more than anything that he could change that.

One morning, it just became too painful for Cas to pretend he had never known Dean before. He appeared in the dingy motel room, startling Dean enough to make him jump.

“Dammit, Cas!” Dean said, taking a deep breath. “Don't do that.”

“I apologize,” Cas said, taking a step closer to him. Dean stood his ground, but watched him a bit skeptically. When Cas reached out his hand for Dean’s forehead, however, the hunter took a step back.

“Woah, what are you doing, man? I’m not a fan of this whole angel-mojo-messing-with-my-head thing.”

“Please, Dean,” Cas said quietly, his hand suspended in midair. “Trust me.”

Dean stood for a couple of moments before taking a deep breath and stepping back within Cas’s reach. “Fine,” he said in resignation.

Cas closed his eyes, rifling through Dean’s memories and reinserting those that he’d taken all those years ago. When he had finished, he took a step back and waited, practically holding his breath.

Dean’s eyes found Cas’s the second they opened, and the hunter looked stunned. “What did you just do?” he whispered.

“I gave you back memories,” Cas said quietly. “Memories I took from you a long time ago. I thought… I thought it would be better if you did not remember me, did not remember us.”

The words had barely left Cas’s mouth when his lips were covered by Dean’s, his cheeks cupped by the hunter’s warm, calloused hands. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Dean pulled back, looking into Cas’s eyes again.

“Well, then we’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”


End file.
